The Longest Shift**
by Lucius McLean
Summary: Hehe... the evil John T Carter is back.... Muahhahahah... Carter still has troubles after rehab.. Can his friends help him trough his dark period... (This one is for you Kate)


Reposted...  
  
Not mine, Yada yada. They belong to WB yada yada.. Hope ya all like it! Plz Review!!  
  
How to describe this thing?? Umm.. Carter/Carol/Doug friendship, Yeah, you read right! DOUG AND CAROL is here. I actually think I mentioned most of them, it's around May Day.  
  
**The longest shift**  
  
The graveyard shift had finally ended. Mark had been counting down the hours for a long time. He could barely wait to get home to Elizabeth.  
  
"Bye Kerry, I'm leaving now." he said to the red haired doctor who was yelling at Malucci. Again.  
  
"Bye Mark. You have to take better care of your patients!" She barely stopped yelling.  
  
He smiled to Malucci who for a long time ago had closed his ears to Kerry's yelling. Malucci waved his hand to him and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Have you heard anything I have been talking about?!" Kerry started yelling again.  
  
Mark left out to the garage and walked towards his car. He had finally competed his fear for going out there. Every since he was beaten up he had been avoiding places like this. He looked around. It was absolutely quiet.  
  
Suddenly he saw Carter sitting in his Jeep staring at nothing.  
  
"Carter is you okay?"  
  
"Uh yes, I'm just thinking, what time is it?"  
  
"It's 6 a.m."  
  
"Oh Fuck" He got out of the car and started running towards the hospital. Mark looked after his friend, he hadn't been himself since the stabbing, the old Carter wouldn't have been swearing at all, and he had never been late. He hoped he would be back to normal soon.  
  
He drove to the airport to pick up Rachel. She was going to stay with him and Elizabeth this weekend.  
  
"Hello pumpkin" He said while giving Rachel a big hug. While driving home Rachel were talking about everything she had done the last weeks.  
  
When they arrived a smiling Elizabeth greeted them.  
  
"Hello Rachel" she said and gave Rachel a hug, they had begun to be good friends.  
  
"Hello Mark" she gave him a big kiss. Rachel stared at them and giggled. That evening they played Scrabble ate pizza and was really enjoying it.  
  
In bed afterwards Mark and Elizabeth started talking about the day's events.  
  
"I am a little worried for Carter" Mark said staring up in the attic.  
  
"Today I found him just sitting in his car and he were late for work".  
  
"We just have to give him some time." Elizabeth said.  
  
"Yes you're probably right. I love you"  
  
"I love you too" They snuggled a while before going to sleep.  
  
In Seattle  
  
Children's scream once again wake up their parents.  
  
"Doug it's your turn" a sleepy Carol said.  
  
"What? I did it last time"  
  
"Yes, but I did I alone in many months" she laughed  
  
"Ok" Doug got up. Tess needed her diapers changed again.  
  
"I'm a so nice guy." He said gasping while walking to the girls' room. She smiled  
  
"Yeah right" After a while Doug came back in.  
  
"Doug I don't like the hospital here, I miss Chicago, couldn't we move back?"  
  
"Carol.." I don't think they will hire me there again."  
  
"We could at least try"  
  
"I guess. I kind of miss Mark and Carter." Doug said.  
  
"Yeah and the nurses!"  
  
"I can call Kerry tomorrow, I can't believe we're having this conversation at 3 a.m." He laughed.  
  
Suddenly he jumped in the bed and they started kissing and laughing  
  
Back in Chicago  
  
Carter was staring up in the ceiling, unable to sleep. He couldn't remember how long it was since he had gotten more than a couple of hours sleep. He stood up he knew he wouldn't get any sleep now anyhow. After turning on the TV he opened the refrigerator. Inside it only was a carton of milk, which were way over date and a brown old banana, he didn't care, it wasn't like he was hungry anyway. He sat down in front of the TV, a loud gasp escaped from his mouth as he stretched, and a flash of pain ran down his spine.  
  
He stood up and picked up the pillbox on the kitchen counter. The receipt read "One pill a day only" He opened it and shook three pills into his hand and putted them in his mouth and swallowed. I deserve the pain really, he thought, its all my fault that Lucy and Dennis is dead and it's my fault with Chase.  
  
Mark stood at the reception early on the morning. He saw Carter entering the lounge, his face was sunken and he had big blue bags under his eyes. Mark followed him.  
  
"Carter is you Ok?" Carter leaned his head on his locker and said "Dr. Greene I am fine"  
  
"Are you sure?" Mark asked, Carter looked worse and worse every day. Carter's eyes narrowed and his smile disappeared.  
  
"I HAVE TOLD YOU I'M FINE. NOW COULD YOU LET ME BE ALONE?" Mark took a step backwards. This wasn't the Carter he knew. The old Carter would never yell at his friends like this, if they still were friends though.  
  
Carter stood there not really knowing what to do. He hadn't meant to yell at Mark. He brushed past Mark and left the lounge. At the same time the phone started ringing.  
  
"Dr. Carter could you take that please?" Jerry stood with his arms full of charts. Carter grunted and lifted up the phone  
  
"ER"  
  
"Hello it is Doug Ross"  
  
"WHAT IS IT?" Carter yelled causing Jerry to loose all his charts in surprise and Doug stuttered  
  
"Is Kerry Weaver there?"  
  
He heard a man calling after dr. Weaver, he suddenly figured out who the man was  
  
"Hey Carter how are you?" He was interrupted by a short reply  
  
"I'm fine, Dr. weaver it's a phone call for you" Had that really been Carter? What had happened to him?  
  
"Hello? Anybody there?" Doug heard Kerry's voice and answered  
  
"Oh sorry Dr. Weaver, this is Doug"  
  
"Hello, how are you and Carol?"  
  
"We really miss you guys, and we. I mean I was wondering if it was possible that Carol and I could get jobs down there again" Kerry was silent a moment before she answered, "It isn't a problem with Carol, we need lots of nurses, but to be honest I'm not sure about you.."  
  
"I have played by the rules all the time in Seattle, just call the hospital and check with them. She really wanted them back and therefor she said "Why don't you two come down here a weekend, so we can discuss it?"  
  
"Yes that sounds fine.."  
  
"You sound like there is more you want to ask about?" Weaver said. "Yeah, it is, I don't mean to be nosy, but does Carter have a bad day or something."  
  
"He have a few problems, but I don't think we should talk about this over phone"  
  
"I think we will arrive in Chicago tomorrow or already today, see you later"  
  
"Bye" Doug hung up and said to Carol who had tried to listen to the phone call over the twins screaming.  
  
"You have a job if you want to, but Weaver wasn't sure about me, she wanted us to take a flight down to discuss it" Carol nodded, she crossed her fingers, she really wanted to work down in Chicago again.  
  
"Whom were you talking to before Kerry? You looked so puzzled then"  
  
"Yeah, I talked to Carter"  
  
"How was he?"  
  
"He was different, I just barely recognised him, Kerry said that he have some problems, but she didn't want to talk about it over the phone."  
  
"Hmmm, when can we go down there?"  
  
"We could go now?"  
  
"Yes, I miss them so much I almost miss Romano" Even though Doug never had met Romano in person, he seemed to be really a pain in the ass, after what Carol had told.  
  
"That bad, huh?" He smiled. They called the airport. There was five spare seats, on the flight that leave in two hours.  
  
Back in Chicago:  
  
"Mark! Doug and Carol comes down to Chicago soon, they want to start to start working here again." Kerry smiled, she was so glad that they maybe would start work there again. She really missed them, they had had been friends almost since her first day at the hospital. Mark smiled back to her  
  
"Wow! That would be great!" Carter passed by looking grim.  
  
"Carter, Doug and Carol will visit us soon!" Kerry was so happy and didn't hide it very well.  
  
"Great" Carter said in a flat, dull voice. Kerry's smile disappeared  
  
"I thought you and Doug were friends?"  
  
"Yes, that's right, we were" Kerry looked at the young doctor in front of her, his face were pale and sunken. His eyes were without life and didn't shine as they used to, and his skin was white. His clothes hang loose on him. "Are you okay?" Mark bit his lip. Kerry had definitely said the wrong words.  
  
"I'M FINE!! COULD YOU NOW LET ME BE?!!" Carter's brown eyes turned black, and his mouth turned downwards, he looked dangerous.  
  
Both Kerry and Mark took a step backwards, they had seen Carter a lot angry the last weeks but not that angry. The whole corridor was silent, and everyone stared at him almost like when Carter and Anspaugh fought. He walked past Kerry and Mark, didn't want to be there anymore. Kerry stood there looking after him. She had never seen him like this before. She had hoped that he was going to be the old Carter when he returned from rehab, but the old Carter seemed to have disappeared.  
  
Instead Carter had turned angry and jumped when anyone were near him.  
  
Carter stood on the roof looking down on the cars beneath him. Raindrops started falling and soon it was like the whole sky opened. The rained splashed down, and after a minute he was soaked to the skin, thunder started rolling. With the rain falling he let his tears fell too.  
  
He hated his life, he felt so useless, he couldn't do anything right. The world would have been so much better of if he had died and Lucy survived. She had been so sweet, helpful and she would have been a wonderful doctor, she had deserved to survive, he didn't. He looked down again, a little jump and it all would be over, if he wanted it to.  
  
TBC?? 


End file.
